Talking to MASN executives Jim Cuddihy and Chris Glass about the upcoming season is like speaking with two guys who just hit the lottery.
Few regional sports networks have risen so far so fast as MASN. They began on the Nationals’ Opening Day back in 2005 — when only DirecTV carried them — to now having three channels and more than 5 million subscribers from Harrisburg, Pa. to Charlotte, N.C. That is traveling at warp speed in the world of regional cable.
Say what you want about Peter Angelos but he and the team of professionals that run MASN have spent big money and cut no corners in the development of this regional sports network.
“We are producing every Nationals and Orioles game this year in high definition,” said Glass, MASN’s Executive Producer, Operations Director, on what they have done during the offseason. “That way if say the Orioles’ Opening Day game was rained out, then we can switch to the Nationals-Marlins game in HD.
“We have built new state-of-the-art permanent sets at both Nationals Park and at Camden Yards. This will allow us to do live pre- and post-game shows at every home game at both parks during the season. Nationals fans can have a chance to interact with Johnny Holiday and Ray Knight and watch everything live on location. Jim Hunter and Rick Dempsey can do the same in Baltimore.”
They have also upgraded their studios in the network center in Hunt Valley for both teams, something fans will see when the teams are on the road.
“We have a new high home camera location on level three of Nationals Park. That means the camera is about 150 feet lower and closer to the field so fans will have a better look at the game action,” Glass said. “We will also use X-Mo, a high-speed HD camera that fans watching the Super Bowl will recall being used to show that Santonio Holmes’ feet were in-bounds on the Steelers’ game winning touchdown.”
The challenge MASN faces is that there are two teams, the Nats and the Orioles, that are often broadcast at the same time. But MASN keeps both teams on the same technology and staff level.
“We have always had the same equipment on each truck that covers both teams games,” Glass said. “We have used the same trucks that ESPN and FOX use to do baseball. Our crew members, many of whom work for both MASN and CSN, are considered some of the best in the broadcast industry and they have done Super Bowls and World Series.”
But more than the crew, MASN has gotten a lot of cooperation from the Nationals and a new over-the-air station to take on some Sunday games.
“I can’t say enough about the Nats’ front office and ownership,” said Cuddihy, MASN’s Executive VP Programming, Marketing, Affiliate Relations. “They have been wonderful partners every step of the way. We are happy with our new relationship with DC50. They will air selected Sunday broadcasts this season but they will also carry Nats Xtra pregame as well as the postgame shows as well.”
OK, I am ready for those fans out there that will simply call me an Angelos lover, but MASN is a quality regional sports network. As someone who has first-hand experience in building three of them from the ground up, I can tell you Glass, Cuddihy and their team are very well thought of in the industry. Both the Nationals and the Orioles have top talent in the booth and top-quality talent in the production trucks.
We are lucky as sports fans in this region to have two quality regional sports networks owned by two powerful entities that at times bring out fans’ ire. The fact that some fans may not like the people or the companies who own these networks does not take away from the gifted people who work for them. Those who can’t see that simply do not know television and should turn in their remotes.
Jim Williams is a seven-time Emmy Award-winning TV producer, director and writer. Check out his blog, Watch this! on washingtonexaminer.com.
